Adjustment

Amer Fort

This weekend was awesome.  I am starting to take more steps forward than backwards now.  This weekend, I successfully read my first sign in Hindi, met lots of really awesome people, and bought many gifts for my family. In fact, I would definitely say that the past nine days have been very successful in general.  I learned how Indians play "paper, scissors, stone," visited local sites like the Amer Fort, Hawa Mahal, and Juntar Muntar, a restored ancient astrological garden.  It was pretty great. 

Last weekend, I experienced my first dose of man that wasn't trying to hit on us.   When we were walking back from the Amer Fort, , we wanted to check out some famous Jaipur blue pottery and shop at some of the local leather shops (don’t worry it’s all camel), so we hiked back into town.  When we were in the blue pottery shop, hordes of happy cheering Muslims began marching towards us, on their way to a mosque outside of town.  Luckily, before we even really thought about it, one of the shopkeepers invited us to his roof, as he didn’t want anything bad to happen.  In India, the majority of Muslims are converts and many come from the lower castes, hoping to escape their place in society.  This being said, they often are not highly educated, so the younger boys can sometimes stir up trouble with girls.  So it was a very good thing that the shopkeeper allowed us up to watch the crowd go by.  It was amazing how many people were so happy to celebrate an occasion. 

Dancing with 7 pots!

The week flew by with staff from Minnesota University visiting, a meal out to celebrate my half birthday, and another special friend's birthday, climaxing in a field trip to a local performing arts tribe, where we learned and practiced the art of puppetry, dancing and sewing.  When this weekend hit, I really wasn't too terribly excited.  We were planning on a very low key weekend, with lots of hiking, mostly just to get away from the city.  But it turned out so much better than planned.  First, I took my first train ride ever.  We were already sure to have bought seats, so there was none of that being crammed like cattle into the car.  In fact, we shared a very roomy cabin with two men who quizzed us on our Hindi (I must admit that I didn't fair too well).  Other than that, it was nothing but a very a relaxing ride that didn't spark any motion sickness.  

Learning Rajasthani Folk Dancing (Check out my sandal tan lines!)

Our train let us off in Ajmer, a smaller city than Jaipur.  I really only wanted to see one site there, a tomb of a famous Sufi Saint.  Sufism is a branch of Islam that is fairly popular in the area I live in.  Since I had only experienced Hindu sites up until then, I really wanted to go see the holy site.  It was well worth the confusing and pushy walk through the crowd of Muslims.  As soon as we stepped through the gate, a calmness settled in the air.  Though people asked for donations, they only asked once and were all too happy to bless us anyway.  In general, it was just a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.  

Mountainous Hike Route to Pushkar

After a good lunch, we hiked about 10 km over the mountains to a small town called Pushkar.  I had no idea what to expect, and was shocked to see such a variety of people.  It seemed as if the sixties never really died in Pushkar.  I am pretty sure that Indians were in the minority there, and the majority was some floater hippy, median age 40, and all with dreadlocks.  It was great.  Prices were pretty fair, and the Brahmin priests were more than happy to bless you (for a price).   We saw the only Brahman temple in the world, and did lots of good shopping.  During dinner at a falafel stand (Israelis dominate the town), we got to know a few people, one of which we ran into on our way to the guest house we were planning on staying at.  Fortunately, the guest house happened to have exactly eight more beds, but unfortunately, no rooms.  We actually crashed on mattresses that were set up in the restaurant!  AND it was  a million times more comfortable than the guest house we paid double for in Bharatpur. Even the food was better.  


All in all, the word that really describes the atmosphere of Pushkar was chill.  The entire holy city was just following the groove...it was a perfect escape from the busy city.  I can't wait for this week.  We have a field trip in a region called Shekawrati, followed with a camel safari outside of Bikaneer and a visit to the rat temple.  Though this is going to be more than double what my other two weekends costed, I am sure it will be worth it; after all how many times does anyone get to ride a camel through the deserts of India?


Happy Valentine's Day!